Push and pull

MUCH remains at stake, but it is nonetheless reassuring that our politicians have returned to more parliamentary means of doing business. After the failure of its midnight ‘constitutional coup’ last month, the government had remanded its proposed constitutional amendments to a parliamentary committee for further debate and consideration by the leaders of opposition political parties. Back and forth over the proposed ‘constitutional package’, which is expected to be tabled in the coming days, continued, with the ruling coalition and opposition parties engaging in terse exchanges over what should and should not be included in the package. According to proposals presented on the government’s behalf, it is clear that the ruling parties have not reconsidered their widely criticised decision to supplant the Supreme Court with a ‘federal constitutional court’, to be led by a judge of their choosing. The JUI-F, on Saturday, has now proposed a ‘constitutional bench’ within the Supreme Court instead, to be led by serving justices. If an agreement on this point can be reached, the JUI-F has suggested, it may be willing to support the government on its planned amendments.
The ruling coalition insists, despite not having enough lawmakers, that it can muster the numbers needed to enact a constitutional amendment bill. Observers have pointed out that the recent annulment of the Supreme Court’s earlier interpretation of Article 63-A has made it easier to rope in votes from the opposition. Continued uncertainty over whether the reserved seats denied to the PTI will be apportioned to it has complicated the picture. Still, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who has been negotiating on behalf of the government, says that he would rather proceed with consensus. That is appreciable, but it must be asked why the nation, in whose name these amendments are supposedly being moved, has still not been fully looped in. Why is it that the government is not arguing for its legislative package before the public as well? To this, no one seems to have a coherent answer. The government’s plans should not continue to be debated behind closed doors, not when the future of the democracy is at stake. It must not use its power and resources to complete its numbers: if it respects Pakistani democracy, it should let the chips fall where they may.
Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2024